The present invention relates generally to latches for doors which have sliding bolts and, more particularly, to locking clips for attachment to the sliding bolt latch of hatchway doors.
Sliding bolt latches are widely employed to lock hatchway doors shut and prevent unauthorized entry into dwellings and other buildings. The sliding bolt is normally fabricated from a metal rod having an elongated shank and oppositely bent arms at either end. The shank is slidably and pivotally mounted in a bracket on the inside of one of the pair of hatchway doors and may be slid over a locking abutment on the opposite hatchway door to prevent opening the doors from the outside. To prevent the sliding bolt from being slidably disengaged from the abutment, it may be rotated so that the arm engages the locking abutment to prevent the bolt from sliding.
Unfortunately, this type of sliding bolt latch for hatchway doors is subject to outside manipulation by an intruder, who may, in attempting an unauthorized entry, forcibly vibrate or otherwise cause the bolt to rotate the arm free from the locking bracket on the opposite door and then move the bolt axially. Once the sliding bolt is disengaged from the opposite door, the doors may be easily opened.
Although locks other than sliding bolt latches are available for hatchway doors, they are often more complex, expensive and more difficult to install than sliding bolt locks which are easily welded or brazed to the door. Moreover, other locking devices can seldom be combined with existing sliding bolt latches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel locking clip which removably attaches to the elongated shank of a sliding bolt latch of a hatchway door to prevent the bolt from being slid into an unlatched position.
It is also an object to provide such a locking clip which is relatively simple in construction and easy to install onto a sliding bolt latch.
Another object is to provide a locking clip which is rugged and long lived, and which may be fabricated relatively easily and economically.